Lankan rebel front warns of new attacks

Tension fell in the island's minority Tamil dominated northeast after the two sides met last month in Geneva for the first high level talks in three years. That followed violence that almost destroyed a 2002 truce, raising the spectre of a return to a two-decade war that killed more than 64,000 people.

The Upsurging Peoples Brigade, one of a string of suspected Tiger fronts that claimed responsibility for attacks on the military that killed dozens of servicemen in December and January, said they would resume attacks.

"The military and paramilitary groups ... have resumed their atrocities again," said a statement circulated in the eastern town of Batticaloa and seen by Reuters.

It accused troops of destroying Tamil culture, harassing young Tamil women and spreading AIDS. The army denies any abuse charges.

"We are forced to resume activities recently stopped by us," the statement added in Tamil. "We shall resume our activities so the military ... are aware of the severity of our attacks."

Similar threats from suspected Tiger fronts were delivered in the run-up to the last round of talks, but no attacks followed.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka banned deep sea fishing off the island's troubled regions from Monday, two days after Tiger rebels blew up a navy gunboat and killed eight sailors, a defence official said.

The ban would apply to trawlers with immediate effect, the official said.

Vessels would need written permission from navy chief Wasantha Karannagoda to enter the prohibited zone.